Arrangement for holding down a rail

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to an arrangement for holding down a rail ( 14 ) having a rail foot ( 20 ), such as a stock rail, comprising a base ( 18 ), such as a slide chair plate, tongue roller plate or wheel guide plate, a plate element ( 16 ), such as a slide chair or counter bearing, detachably arranged on the base, a spring element ( 10 ) holding the plate element on the base, and a first and a second abutment for tensioning the spring element. To enable the rail to be held down with structurally simple measures and at the same time to achieve ease of maintenance and servicing, it is provided that the first abutment is a section ( 78 ) of the plate element ( 16 ) or extends therefrom, running in the region remote from the rail foot, in that the second abutment is an eccentric element ( 12 ) which preferably extends in the longitudinal direction of the rail ( 14 ) and is arranged rotatably in a receptacle ( 46 ) arranged between the rail foot ( 20 ) and the first abutment and starting from the base ( 18 ), and in that the spring element is designed to be supported on the rail foot ( 20 ).

The invention relates to an arrangement for holding down a rail having arail foot, such as a stock rail, comprising a base, such as a slidechair plate, a tongue roller plate or a check rail plate, a plateelement releasably arranged on the base, such as a slide chair orcounter bearing, a spring element holding the plate element on the base,and a first and a second abutment for tensioning the spring element.

In order to fix a stock rail, it is known that a slide chair issupported on its rail foot for holding it down, which is clamped againsta base, such as a slide chair plate or a tongue roller plate, by meansof a spring element. Alternatively, the holding down can be performedvia springs themselves. The spring element is tensioned by means of aslide chair which is integral with a base. The slide chair and slidechair plate or ribbed plate are thus monolithic. A correspondingsolution can be found in DE 22 59 683 A1.

WO 96/41920 A1 relates to a device for fastening stock rails inswitches, wherein a slide chair extends from a base and has atunnel-like recess through which a spring element passes, by means ofwhich a stock rail is held down. To tension the spring element, a crosswedge with a wedge-shaped flattening is used, which passes through atransverse bore of the slide chair.

According to DE 103 38 421 A1 (EP 1 508 642 A1), a slide chair isclamped via a spring element with a slide chair plate or ribbed plate inorder to hold down a stock rail by means of the slide chair. For thispurpose, the spring element is supported in a channel-shaped receptacleof the slide chair on the rail foot side and on an eccentric pin remotefrom the foot. The slide chair itself is detachably arranged on theslide chair plate or ribbed plate.

In order to hold down a stock rail by means of a slide chair detachablyarranged on a slide chair plate, according to EP 0 778 372 A1 arod-shaped eccentric spring element is provided which is supported, onthe one hand, on an abutment formed on the slide chair and, on the otherhand, in receptacles extending from the slide chair plate or ribbedplate.

When the stock rails are held down by means of the slide chair, thewheel force is transferred to the stock rail foot via the slide chair,so that stock rail fractures can occur due to the stress concentrationunder the slide chair.

One object of the present invention is to further design an arrangementof the type mentioned above in such a way that it is possible to holddown the rail with structurally simple measures, while at the same timebeing easy to service and maintain. It should be possible by simplemeans to tension the spring without risk.

To achieve one or more of these aspects, it is essentially proposed thatthe first abutment is or extends from a section of the plate elementwhich extends in the region remote from the rail foot, that the secondabutment is an eccentric element, preferably extending in thelongitudinal direction of the rail, which is rotatably arranged in areceptacle arranged between the rail foot and the first abutment andextending from the base, and that the spring element is designed to bearon the rail foot, as a third abutment.

First and third abutments could also be referred to as first and secondsupports, between which the abutment formed by the eccentric elementextends.

According to the invention, an arrangement for holding down a rail, inparticular a stock rail, is proposed in which the plate element, such asa slide chair or counter-bearing, in particular a slide chair, does nothold down the rail foot, i.e. extends at a distance from it but canextend beyond its edge. Instead, the plate element holds down a springelement, which is tensioned by means of an eccentric element, in order,on the one hand, to hold down the rail foot and, on the other hand, tohold the plate element on the base.

The plate element, which is detachably supported on the base, and therail are clamped depending on the position of the eccentric element andare thus held down.

It is provided in particular that the spring element comprises the firstabutment formed in or extending from the plate element in such a waythat displacement of the plate element is no longer possible. For thispurpose, it is provided in particular that a contact region of the firstabutment has the geometry of a cylinder section and that the springelement rests with a geometrically adapted end region on the firstabutment and surrounds it in some regions. This ensures, among otherthings, that the spring element cannot be displaced in its longitudinaldirection, at least in the tensioned state.

The eccentric element is preferably a rod-shaped element which, in thecontact region with the spring element, has an eccentric geometry incross-section such that, in a first position of the eccentric element,the spring element can be positioned without being tensioned and, in asecond position of the eccentric element, the spring element istensioned such that both the rail foot and the plate element as well asthe spring element are held down.

In the contact region with the spring element, the eccentric elementshould have the geometry of a circular segment or of a circularsegmental shape in section, whereby the distance between the contactregion and the base is changed depending on the rotational position ofthe eccentric element, thus enabling the spring element to be tensionedor released.

The receptacle is preferably provided with two bearing elements throughwhich the eccentric element passes and which extend in sections intorecesses in the plate element.

The bearing elements have through-openings through which the eccentricelement passes, which in turn also passes through sections of the plateelement in order to secure the plate element against tilting.

Preferably, the spring element extends in the central region of theplate element and in the longitudinal direction thereof.

The plate element should have a longitudinal recess extending from thefirst abutment to the end region facing the rail and bounded by sidewalls. In order to create a form fit between the plate element and thebase (anti-tilt), the side walls and the bearing elements are penetratedby the eccentric element. At the same time, the eccentric element iseasily accessible for actuation on the outside of the plate element.

The bearing elements themselves should be surrounded by the side legs incertain regions and connected via a leg, in particular a plate-shapedleg, extending above the eccentric element.

In other words, it is preferred that the bearing elements are side legsof the U-shaped receptacle in section, the transverse leg of whichextends above the eccentric element.

At least at one of its ends, the eccentric element should have anactuating head, such as a polygonal head, in particular a square head,in order to allow easy rotation of the eccentric element and thustensioning and relaxing of the spring element. A special tool is notrequired. Rather, an open-end wrench, for example, can be used.

The spring element is in particular a leaf spring, the largestcross-section of which runs in the contact region with the eccentricelement, such as eccentric bolt. In the relaxed state, the upper side,i.e. the surface facing the eccentric element, should have a concaveprofile and the lower side a convex profile, with the radius ofcurvature of the convex profile being smaller than that of the concaveprofile in the contact region.

The sections of the eccentric element that are rotatably arranged in thebearing elements have a circular geometry in section.

Further details, advantages and features of the invention result notonly from the claims, the features to be taken from these—individuallyand/or in combination—but also from the following description ofexemplary embodiments to be taken from the drawing.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of an arrangement for holding down arail in exploded view,

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of a corresponding arrangement,

FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of an arrangement for holding down a railwith a relaxed spring element, and

FIG. 4 shows the arrangement of FIG. 3 with a tensioned spring element.

With reference to the figures, the teaching according to the inventionfor securing a rail to a base is explained by means of a stock railwhich is secured first by means of a spring element and then by means ofa slide chair, which in turn can start from a slide chair or tongueroller plate. However, this does not limit the fundamental nature of theteaching according to the invention. On the contrary, this can be usedin particular wherever a rail is to be fastened, especially in theregion of a crossing vee, wherein an abutment can also be used insteadof a slide chair.

In the figures which explain the invention by way of example only,basically identical elements are provided with identical referencenumerals.

The characteristic feature of the invention is the tensioning of aspring element 10 by means of an eccentric element 12, whereby both astock rail 14 and a slide chair 16 are held down on a support 18 (ribbedplate/slide chair plate) as well as the spring itself.

The stock rail 14 is supported on the base 18 by an elastic intermediatelayer 19, which is also referred to below as the slide chair plate orribbed plate. The foot 20 of the stock rail 14 is secured by ribs 22,24, 26 extending from the base 18 to prevent uncontrolled displacementperpendicular to the longitudinal direction thereof, wherein a holder ofa rail fastening, such as a tension clamp 28 or clamping plate, is fixedin a known manner between the ribs 24, 26. In the drawing, the tensionclamp 28 is tensioned as a fastener by means of a tension screw 30 toform the external fastener for the stock rail 14. For this purpose, asection of the tension clamp 28 in the exemplary embodiment is supportedon the left section of the rail foot 20 in the drawing.

The stock rail 14 is internally fastened by supporting the springelement 10, which is to be designated as a leaf spring and which issupported on the right section of the rail foot 20 by its left-hand edgeregion 32 in the drawing.

According to the embodiment of FIG. 1 , the base 18 can be fasteneddirectly to a concrete sleeper, wooden sleeper, artificial woodensleeper or to a slab track by means of bolts 34, 36, wherein disksprings 38, 40 can be provided between the respective bolt head and thesurface of the base.

A tongue rail 42 is adjusted to the stock rail 14, which is adjusted onthe surface of the slide chair 16.

The slide chair 16 is a component manufactured independently of the base18 and may be manufactured, for example, by forging or casting ormilling. Where the slide chair 16 is a cast component, nodular cast ironor cast steel should be used.

The same manufacturing processes and materials should also be used forthe slide chair plate 18

As a comparison of FIGS. 1 and 2 on the one hand and FIGS. 3 and 4 onthe other hand reveals, the slide chair 16 has a recess 44 extending inits longitudinal direction and in particular in the central region, inwhich recess the spring element 10 extends. In the front section 46 ofthe slide chair, the recess 44 is covered to form a closed slidingsurface for the tongue rail 42.

The recess 44 is bounded by side walls 48, 50 between which the leafspring 10 extends. At about the midpoint between the rear and front ofthe slide chair 16, the side walls 48, 50 have recesses 52, 54 extendingthrough the slide chair 16 over its entire height to provide a space fora receptacle or bearing 56 extending from the base 18. The bearing 56 iseffectively a bearing block, which, in the exemplary embodiment, has aU-shape in section with side legs 58, 60 and cross legs 62.

The recesses 52, 54 preferably have a rectangular shape in plan view.

The side legs 58, 60 have openings or bores 64, 66, which are alignedflush with one another and through which the eccentric element 12, to bereferred to as a shaft or rod, passes to allow it to rotate. For thispurpose, the eccentric element 12 has an actuating head 68, such as asquare head, in an end region in order to rotate the eccentric shaft 12,which is geometrically designed in the contact region 70 with the springelement in such a way that the desired eccentric effect is given, i.e.,depending on the position of the shaft 12, the spring element 10 iseither tensioned (FIG. 4 ) or relaxed (FIG. 3 ).

For this purpose, the eccentric region 70 has, in particular, thegeometry in section of a circular segment. Other geometries that allowdeflection of the spring 10 to tension it are equally usable.

When the slide chair 16 is placed on the base 18, the through-openings64, 66 of the bearing block 56 are aligned with apertures 72, 74 in theside walls 48, 50 of the slide chair 16 so that the eccentric element 12passes through all the bores and can be rotated from the outside of theleg 48 using a tool such as an open-end wrench.

Since the eccentric element 12 passes through the side walls 48, 50, theeccentric element 12 simultaneously forms an anti-tilt device for thestock rail 14 and the slide chair 16. Another advantage of mounting theeccentric element 12 in the center region is that if the spring element12 breaks, the plate element 16 is still held in position securedagainst tilting, lifting and sliding. This also ensures that the rail 14to be fastened is held in the desired position. Special precautions,such as projections or notched nails extending from a base plate andinterlocking with the plate element, can thus be eliminated, allowing asimpler design.

Furthermore, recesses 49, 51 extending from the rear sides of the sidewalls 48, 50 can be seen in the figures, in which projections 53, 55extending from the base 18 engage (see FIG. 2 ) to form a displacementprotection.

In all other respects, the figures are self-explanatory regardingcomponents and construction.

After arranging the slide chair 16 on the base 18, the eccentric element12, i.e. the eccentric shaft, is first pushed through the openings 72,64, 66, 74 and secured by a split pin 75. Next, the spring is pushedinto the recess 44 from the rear of the slide chair 16, with the spring10 extending between the base 18 and the eccentric element 12.

The eccentric element 12 is arranged or rotated in such a way that itcan be pushed through unhindered or without tension to such an extentthat, on the one hand, the front end 32 of the spring 10 comes to reston the rail foot 20 and, on the other hand, the rear end 76 can besupported on a first abutment of the plate element 16, in particular onan elevation 78 of the plate element 16 extending between the side walls48, 50.

Generally speaking, at its ends, the spring element 10 is supported on afirst support formed by the rail foot 20 on the one hand, and, on theother hand, on a second support formed by a section of the plate element16 or the ribbed plate or sliding chair plate, specifically on theelevation 78 in the exemplary embodiment. The adjustable or rotatableeccentric element 12 acts as an abutment between the supports.

The end section 76, which is arc-shaped in section, surrounds thesection 78, which preferably has a circle-like geometry in section, tosuch an extent that uncontrolled displacement is impossible, while atthe same time providing sufficient bearing surface for material-friendlyforce transmission. The adaptation of the end section 76 of the springelement 10 and the retaining section 78 extending between the side walls48, 50 can also be clearly seen from FIGS. 3 and 4 .

It can also be seen from these figures that the stock rail 10 is helddown exclusively by supporting the spring element 10 on the rail foot 20and not—as designs of the prior art provide for—via the sliding plate16.

When the spring element 10 is properly positioned, i.e., the front edgeregion 32 rests on the rail foot 20 and the rear edge region 76positively surrounds the section 78, the eccentric element 12 is rotatedto tension the spring element 10, thereby simultaneously holding downboth the stock rail 14 and the slide chair 16 by virtue of the tension.The head of the eccentric element is secured, e.g. in a groove, toprevent uncontrolled rotation when the spring is to be tensioned.

These two positions of the eccentric element 12 can be seen in FIGS. 3and 4 . In FIG. 3 , the spring element 10 is located in a contact region70 of the eccentric element 12, in which tensioning of the springelement 10 is avoided. Contact between eccentric element 12 and springelement 10 should be avoided. If the eccentric element 12 is rotated inthe exemplary embodiment by 180°, a pressure is exerted via theeccentric element 12 to tension the spring element 10.

The spring element 10 should essentially consist of two outer legs 11,13 connected by an arc 15. This allows tension-free insertion andpositioning of the spring element 10 on the supports provided for thispurpose.

The spring element 10 exhibits the greatest section modulus in theregion of the arc 15, preferably in the contact region 70 with theeccentric element 12, i.e. under the second abutment according to theclaims. Due to a corresponding change in the cross-section of the legs11, 13, the section modulus decreases starting from the arc 15 along thelegs 11, 13.

In order to keep the overall height low and to allow a high sectionmodulus in the region of the arc 15 of the spring element 10, a recessedregion X in the base 18 below the second abutment is provided. In thisway, the arc 15 of the spring element 10 is not obstructed by the base18 during insertion or for downward tensioning, which in turn has anadvantageous effect on low overall height. The recessed region Xpreferably results directly from forging the bearing block 56 comprisingthe side legs 58, 60 and the transverse leg 62 from the base 18 (slidechair plate).

The contact region 70 should extend closer to the lower support plane ofthe base 18 than the highest ends A1, A2 of the legs 11, 13 of thespring element 10 facing away from the base, in order to achieve a lowoverall height.

FIG. 2 shows the principle of an elastic bearing arrangement.

The static stiffness of the elastic bearing should be greater than 30kN/mm and up to 100 kN/mm. For a highly elastic bearing, the staticstiffness should range between 4 kN/mm and 27.5 kN/mm. In FIG. 2 , aslide chair plate (base 118) is elastically supported on a support, suchas a sleeper, via a plate 120. For fastening the base 118, such as aslide chair plate or tongue roller plate, and for fastening the plate120 extending under it and forming the elastic layer, these arepenetrated by preferably hexagonal bolts 134, 136, a disk spring 138,140 and a thrust washer 142, 144 extending on the base side beinglocated between the respective bolt head and the base 118.

The screw 134, 136 passes through an insert 146, 148 inserted into acorresponding recess 150, 152 in the base 118, which in turn is alignedwith a corresponding recess 154, 156 in the plate 120.

The spring element 10 may be made of alloyed tempering steel, preferablywith a strength between 1150 and 1450 N/mm², in particular between 1200and 1350 N/mm². The hardness HRC should be between 35 and 40, especiallybetween 38 and 42.

Preferably, the spring element 10 is galvanized.

The width of the spring element 10 can be between 45 mm and 50 mm and/orthe length can be between 225 mm and 275 mm and/or the thickness in thecontact region with the eccentric element 12 can be between 16 mm and 22mm, to give purely exemplary numerical values.

The progression of the resistance moment over the length of the tensionspring is such that the distance of the vertical tension applied by theeccentric element 12 in the second position on the tension spring in thecontact region 70 is between 1 mm and 5 mm, whereby a required hold-downforce of the tension spring on the rail foot, for example 12 kN, iseffected.

The described clamping can also be applied to slide chairs of monolithicdesign, where the base and the plate element are formed in one piece.Therefore, another object of the invention is to provide an arrangementfor holding down a rail having a rail foot, such as a stock rail,comprising a base, such as a slide chair plate, tongue roller plate orwheel guide plate, a plate element extending from the base, such as aslide chair or counter bearing, a spring element and a first and asecond abutment for tensioning the spring element, wherein the firstabutment is a section of the plate element or extends therefrom, whichextends in the region remote from the rail foot, and the second abutmentis an eccentric element, which preferably extends in the longitudinaldirection of the rail and is rotatably disposed in a receptacle situatedbetween the rail foot and the first abutment, wherein the spring elementis constructed for support on the rail foot.

The receptacle can extend from the base or be formed in the plateelement.

Designs of the arrangement according to the invention for holding down arail having a rail foot result, both for the detachably arranged plateelement and the monolithic design, from the above explanations and theclaims.

1. An arrangement for holding down a rail (14) having a rail foot (20),such as a stock rail, comprising a base (18, 118) such as a slide chairplate, tongue roller plate or wheel guide plate, a plate element (16)detachably arranged on the base such as a slide chair or counterbearing, a spring element (10) holding the plate element on the base,and a first and a second abutment for tensioning the spring element,wherein the first abutment is a section (78) of the plate element (16)or extends therefrom, extending in the region remote from the rail foot,in that the second abutment is an eccentric element (12), which extendspreferably in the longitudinal direction of the rail (14) and isrotatably arranged in a receptacle (56) arranged between the rail foot(20) and the first abutment and extending from the base (18, 118), andin that the spring element is designed to be supported on the rail foot(20).
 2. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein the eccentric element (12)is a rod-shaped element, such as a shaft, which has an eccentricgeometry in cross-section in the contact region (70) with the springelement (10) in such a way that the spring element (10) is untensionedin a first position of the eccentric element and tensioned in a secondposition in such a way that both the rail foot (20) and the plateelement (16) are held down.
 3. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein theeccentric element (12) in the contact region (70) has a geometry of acircular segment or of a circular segmental shape in section.
 4. Thearrangement of claim 1, wherein the receptacle (56) has two bearingelements (58, 60) which extend in sections into recesses (52, 54) in theplate element (16).
 5. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein the springelement (10) extends in the central region of the plate element (16) andin the longitudinal direction thereof.
 6. The arrangement of claim 1,wherein the first abutment (78) has the geometry of a cylinder sectionand in that the spring element (10) rests with a geometrically adaptedend region (76) on the first abutment in such a way that a longitudinaldisplacement of the spring element in the tensioned state is prevented.7. The arrangement of claim 2, wherein the cross-sectional region ormoment of resistance of the spring element (10) in the contact region(70) to the eccentric element (12) is larger than in the contact regionboth with the rail foot (20) and with the first abutment (78).
 8. Thearrangement of claim 1, wherein the plate element (16) for receiving thespring element (10) has a longitudinal recess (44) which preferablystarts from the first abutment (78) and extends in the longitudinaldirection of the plate element and is bounded by side walls (48, 50),and in that the side walls have the eccentric element (12) passingthrough them.
 9. The arrangement of claim 4, wherein the bearingelements (58, 60) of the eccentric element (12) are surrounded inregions by the side walls (48, 50).
 10. The arrangement of claim 4,wherein the bearing elements (58, 60) are lateral legs of the receptacle(56), which has a U-shape in section and the transverse leg (72) ofwhich extends above the eccentric element (12).
 11. The arrangement ofclaim 1, wherein the eccentric element (12) is designed, at least in oneof its ends, as an actuating head (68), such as a polygonal head, inparticular a square head, which is located within an outer side of oneof the legs (48, 50).
 12. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein the plateelement (16) extends, with its end region running on the rail side,above the rail foot (20) and at a distance therefrom.
 13. Thearrangement of claim 1, wherein the contact region (70) between theeccentric element (12) and the spring element (10) extends closer to thelower support plane of the base (18) than the ends (A1, A2) of the legs(11, 13) of the spring element facing away from the base with theirrespective smallest distance from the lower support plane of the base.14. An arrangement for holding down a rail (14) having a rail foot (20),such as a stock rail, a base (18, 118), such as a slide chair plate,tongue roller plate or wheel guide plate, a plate element (16), such asa slide chair or counter bearing, extending from the base, a springelement (10) and a first and a second abutment for tensioning the springelement, the first abutment being a section (78) of the plate element(16) or extending therefrom, which extends in the region remote from therail foot, and the second abutment is an eccentric element (12) whichpreferably extends in the longitudinal direction of the rail (14) and isrotatably arranged in a receptacle (46) located between the rail foot(20) and the first abutment, the spring element being designed to besupported on the rail foot (20).
 15. The arrangement of claim 14,wherein the eccentric element (12) is a rod-shaped element, such as ashaft, which has an eccentric geometry in cross-section in the contactregion (70) with the spring element (10) in such a way that the springelement (10) is untensioned in a first position of the eccentric elementand tensioned in a second position in such a way that both the rail foot(20) and the plate element (16) are held down.